Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alexandra Esmonde. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Alexandra, thanks for joining us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

In my opinion mindset is the most important aspect in what it takes to be successful. Entrepreneurship, running a business, sales, starting your own company, or operating at a high level are all stressful and will be mentally and physically taxing. You are going to want to give up and when motivation fails you need to have determination and consistency. Being an entreprenur or successful can be an extremely lonely journey and most of the time you only have yourself. At the end of the day you have to get out of bed every morning, you have to make the calls, you have to sell your product, you have to push forward after getting a 100 no’s or months and months of no sales. If you are not mentally tough then it’s not going to work.

To me success is measured by if you are living the life you want. If you had a dream or a vision and made it a reality. If you get to wake up every day and do something that brings you happiness and you are living the life that you envisioned in your mind. To me success is not just about the money, it’s about having a life that is balanced and feeling fulfilled in all areas.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Alex Esmonde and I am the founder of Swym Suits which is a women’s bathing suit company. What makes Swym Suits unique is the fact that each style has a built-in pocket with a removable waterproof insert. Swym was created with flattering and fashionable styles, that also alleviated the need to have someone stay behind to watch the valuables. The line was designed for style and convenience, with the idea to protect your valuables when you are going in to the water, taking a walk, or just don’t want to carry something in your hand.

The idea for Swym came organically when I was commiserating over the fact that men’s bathing suits have pockets and women’s do not. I grew up swimming and going to the beach and it was an ongoing issue of having to worry about leaving your valuables behind when you were going in the water.

I do not have a fashion background so I spent months researching factories, how to design a bathing suit, how to have patterns made and what fabric to source. It took years of trial and error, starting over with new factories, constant revisions of designs but I created six core styles that are versatile and appeal to a wide variety of demographics and body types.

I am most proud of the fact that I created a product in a field that I knew nothing about, overcame numerous obstacles including language barriers with factories, inferior product samples, not knowing any technical terms or having any experience in pricing clothing.

Swym is a brand that is both fashionable and functional and I want potential clients to know that they will be purchasing a quality product that will last for numerous years. Years of research, time, and trial and error went in to constructing bathing suits that are durable, high quality, beautiful and are flattering to numerous body types.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I believe that resilience is an integral component to being an entrepreneur. Throughout my journey to create Swym there were numerous times when the odds seemed stacked against me.

I had been working with a factory overseas for months, had multiple samples shipped to me and I was almost ready to place my first large order with them. The last round of samples they sent were horrible quality and the complete opposite of what I had previously received. After months and thousands of dollars spent I had to start over and find a new factory. While starting over was disappointing and upsetting, I am thankful that this happened before I was stuck with a large order of inferior products that I could not sell. The next factory that I found and the one that I currently work with is amazing and is a true lesson that everything happens for a reason!

We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.

I do not have a fashion background so I spent months researching factories, how to design a bathing suit, how to have patterns made and what fabric to source. It took years of trial and error, starting over with new factories and numerous revisions of designs and altering samples. It was nerve wracking because I only knew what I found on the Internet. I did not have first hand experience with any manufacturers or recommendations from anyone. Most factories are overseas and there was a language barrier and a significant time different with many of them, which lead to delays. Local factories that I found were usually 3x the cost and I would have had to sell my products for an exorbitant amount of money to make any profit.

What I learned throughout this journey is always get one last round of samples before placing a large order. Make sure that your contact is consistent and you ask any and every question that comes to mind until you are completely understand the expectations. Make sure to get a contract and read through it. If you have questions find an attorney who can review it for you!

I am thankful that I found my current factory and it took years of research, trial and error, and interviewing multiple manufacturers to find the perfect fit.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.swymsuits.com
• Instagram: swymsuits
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/SwymSuits

Image Credits
Joe Russell